SCHMID: LOOKING BACK FROM THE LEFT COAST - NOVEMBER 29, 2016
GOVERNOR SPEAKS OUT “The frustration is that delaying has no purpose. It does no good whatsoever.” -- ND Gov. Jack Dalrymple’s reaction to the pipeline protesters. A legislative committee cancelled the annual tribal address to the upcoming legislative session citing security concerns. Columnist Rob Port said the action was justified because “activists are now terrorizing south central North Dakota.” He mentioned threats to schools, state workers, businesses and ranchers.
THE FORUM EDITORIAL BOARD took the opposite position, they said, “It's hard to imagine a more important time for lawmakers to hear from tribal leaders than now. Canceling the speech sends a message that the state doesn't respect the tribes and is willing to offend them for reasons of expediency.”
PROTESTERS made no secret of their intentions. They urged those who got arrested “to stay there . . . because it puts financial burden on the county itself, a strain on resources and a strain on people’s time.” An organizer from a national environmental organization said “we’re going to our very best to make that whole process as complicated and as frustrating for the county itself.” Morton County is reaching out to other counties and states to find public defenders for the hundreds of protesters who have been arrested.
A SEVERELY INJURED PROTESTER may be a victim of herself or colleagues. Preliminary indications are she may have been setting a homemade bomb.
COLUMNIST LLOYD OMDAHL wrote about the pipeline protests: “The time is short for all parties involved in the dispute. The situation will deteriorate with each passing day.” Omdahl believes Gov. Dalrymple should be more aggressive about settling the dispute. He did not mention what he thought the governor should do.
SURPRISING DECEMBER “This is not a juggernaut Bison team entering the playoffs.” -- Columnist Mike McNeely said the Bison have “cracks in their armor,” that is, they have not been rolling over opponents. However, the Bison are seeded No. 1 in FCS post season play and will have their first game December 3rd in Fargo against either Cal Poly or San Diego. UND is seeded No. 7 and plays either Richmond or North Carolina A&T in Grand Forks, also on December 3rd. Flattering and surprising that little ND has two Top Ten teams.
TRICKY RANKING If UND had been seeded No. 8 it would have been in a bracket that would require UND to play NDSU in Fargo. UND’s No. 7 ranking avoids that possibility. There is an unlikely chance the two teams could meet in the national championship in Frisco, Texas.
MAMMOTH ICBM PROJECT The Air Force has missile wings in Minot, Wyoming and Montana. Each wing has 150 Minuteman III missiles in underground launch facilities. The Air Force is preparing to spend from $50 to $80 billion to upgrade the combined facilities. Lockheed, Boeing and Northrop are bidding on the project. Project implementation, sometime in the future, will have a profound impact on the economies of the communities involved. A Lockheed team was in Minot meeting with government and business leaders about the resources required.
ELLEN CHAFEE wrote a lengthy opinion piece in the Forum papers in which she discussed the history and function of the ND State Board of Higher Education. It was difficult to determine where the piece was going until the final paragraph: “A systematic program of board education and evaluation pays off in better decisions and higher credibility. I recommend it.” Chafee was recommending an external evaluation of the SBHE. She was president of Valley City and Mayville State Universities and an unsuccessful Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor in 2012.
REGIONAL ND CITIES represent a threat to businesses in county seat-size towns. Previously, those towns took retail business away from even smaller towns. But now, stores in the county seat towns are losing business to big stores in regional cities. An example, a new Tractor Supply store in Jamestown joined a cluster of stores including Wal-Mart and Menards. They pose a threat to stores in towns such as Carrington, LaMoure, Ellendale and even Valley City. Chain stores in a handful of ND cities will probably evolve to dominate non-food retailing.
JAMESTOWN’S ALBINO WHITE BUFFALO died at a ranch in northeastern ND. Folks in Jamestown would like to have White Cloud back and stuffed for display. Ginny Poindexter wrote the Jamestown Sun, “What a sad day for White Cloud and North Dakota that some would choose to stuff and mount this rare and iconic animal like some sort of trophy. What gives anyone that right?”
EDWIN WILL DIE A doctor told the parents of 3-year-old Edwin Oster that he could not be helped and would die of diphtheria. He didn’t, was never sick again and lived 100 more years to 103 -- a testimony to the sturdiness of Germans from Russia. Edwin spent his entire life on the family farm near Hazen, outlived three wives and was the oldest (and lifetime) member of his Lutheran church. Edwin and his father were instrumental in developing Hazen, a town of 2,500 about 50 miles northwest of Bismarck.
DAKTOIDS: Former U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan blames Clinton’s poor showing in ND for the plight of the state’s Democrats -- says they will rebound . . . Statewide airline boardings continue to slide -- October boardings were down 9 percent from last year. Fargo, an exception, remained steady.
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